Misty Comes Back for Cordelia
by The.S.M
Summary: Just when Cordelia had given up hope of ever seeing Misty again, the two are reunited. This time Cordelia is honest about the way she feels.


Cordelia poured potting mix into a little ceramic bowl. She had purchased several cacti from a market earlier in the day, all various sizes and shapes, and within a few months they'd be ready to be harvested for healing elixirs.

The conservatory was magnificently quiet and that was the way she liked it. Being surrounded by plants and living things kept her calm, and she could go for hours without talking to a single person. The weekends were usually the only opportunity she had to spend any significant amount of time in the conservatory, mainly because the girls took up most of her time and energy.

Cordelia took her bottle of water and spritzed it over the cacti and some of the smaller plants she had on the table. She started to consider her next project – perhaps a lavender paste to help with Zoe's insomnia – when a dull and continuous thud reached her ears. It was coming from upstairs.

"Who is that?" Cordelia murmured. It was Sunday and the girls were out. Spalding no longer lived in the attic, and as far as she was aware, the place was supposed to be completely empty. But she was not mistaken; someone was playing music. Perhaps Madison had come home early?

She put down her spray bottle and left the conservatory. The front door to the house was still locked. All the windows in the kitchen were closed.

"Hello?" she called out up the stairs. There was no response. In fact, it sounded as though the volume had increased. She let out a little sigh and began to climb the stairs.

The music wasn't coming from Madison's room. Or Zoe's. It was definitely coming from – and Cordelia shook her head when the thought came to her – the room Misty had stayed in when she was in the house. As far as she was aware nobody was using it, and Cordelia had told the girls the room was to be left for guests only. It was half true. Some nights when she couldn't sleep, Cordelia would creep down from her room on the third floor and climb into the small bed with its patchwork quilt. She couldn't imagine anyone other than Misty asleep in the bed.

Cordelia approached the door slowly, trying to work out what the song was. Her heart leapt into her chest. It was _Rhiannon_. Misty's favourite Stevie Nicks song. Was this someone's idea of a cruel joke?

"Hello?" she called through the door. "Who's in there?"

Nothing.

Cordelia turned the door handle and cracked open ever so slightly. She could make out a figure in the room, someone moving quite quickly, their arms above their head, swirling in a blur of colour. Long blonde hair spilled down over a shawl, and Cordelia had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't imagining.

Mid-spin, the figure noticed Cordelia at the door.

"Delia!" Misty cried, leaping forward and throwing the door wide open. Cordelia stood completely dumbstruck. Grinning, Misty turned the music down and readjusted her shawl, coming to a standstill in front of the exceptionally pale headmistress.

"But you… but you…"

"I came back! I figured out my way home," Misty said brightly. She held out her arms, signalling for Cordelia to step into her embrace – but the other woman didn't move.

Tears filled her eyes. She had seen Misty die! She'd _seen_ it! And now here she was, dancing around her old bedroom as if nothing had happened?

A thousand things tried to cram their way into the forefront of Cordelia's brain. Nothing _had _happened between them before Misty died. There had been moments, and glances, and small touches, but Misty had passed away before they had been properly explored. Cordelia swayed on her feet. She felt ill.

"Oh, don't look so terrified," Misty said. She stepped forward and filled the space between them. Cordelia half expected Misty to dissolve into ashes, or for her skin to be ice cold like the last time she had touched it.

But Misty was warm and soft and completely human.

"I don't understand," she breathed into Misty's hair, which stuck to her cheeks from the tears.

"I don't quite either," Misty said, trailing her hands over Cordelia's back to comfort her. "But I'm not going to question it."

After a long moment, the two let go of each other. Cordelia easily could have stayed in her embrace for the rest of the day.

"Are… are you hungry?" Cordelia asked. It sounded ridiculous. _You just came back from the dead, how about a snack?_

"Oh, I'm starving!" Misty replied.

"Let me make you something," Cordelia said. She had a sudden urge to hold out her hand; but how could she? She had no solid proof that Misty shared her feelings. Not only that, but Cordelia didn't understand them herself. She'd never been in love with a woman before.

"So how did you do it?" she asked as the two walked downstairs to the kitchen. Cordelia was conscious of how close Misty was to her; her shawl brushed over her arm and goosebumps erupted over her skin. Cordelia bit down on her lower lip.

"It felt like an eternity. I was locked in a classroom, dissecting a frog over and over again. It was awful."

Cordelia glanced sideways at Misty, whose brow was furrowed. She shook her head. "I don't know how I did it, but I'm back, and that's all that matters."

"Yes. It is," Cordelia said quietly.

She pulled a chair out from the dining table for Misty to sit down, but Misty had another idea. The shawl-laden witch jumped up on the counter top next to the fridge and stared straight at Cordelia, who once again, found herself rooted to the spot. Her cheeks felt hot. She never felt this way with her ex-husband. Or, it seemed, any of her old lovers. And she hadn't so much as held Misty's hand.

"Would you like bacon and eggs? Perhaps an omelette? Juice?"

Misty didn't say anything. She just smiled, coyly, and Cordelia felt stiff and awkward. She was so unlike her mother. Fiona was a master of charm; how did Cordelia manage to miss out on something that would, in this moment, save her so much embarrassment?

"Jeez, Delia," Misty said, the smile not faltering from her lips. She hopped off the counter and in one swift, completely unexpected movement, took Cordelia's face in her hands. Without hesitating she kissed her.

It was over before Cordelia had a chance to register what had happened. As Misty stepped back, Cordelia stumbled forward a little. Her body had gone from stiff to weak.

"I… Misty –"

"Shh. Seriously, lady, you were thinking too much and it was written all over your face."

"I – what?"

Misty laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners and her white teeth showing in a brilliant smile.

"Come on, Delia. How could I not have been completely taken by you?"

"I…"

Cordelia bit down on her bottom lip again, her eyes surveying Misty's face. Their eyes were locked. Cordelia's feet involuntarily took a step forward and this time, it was she that sealed the space between them. They were nose to nose. It was something Cordelia had spent countless nights dreaming about. She brought her hand up to Misty's long hair, running her fingers down the side of her face, just as she had done plenty of times in her dreams. Misty's own fingers closed over her hand.

Cordelia leaned in and kissed Misty. Softly, at first, and then passionately. They stumbled backward into the countertop. With surprising strength, Misty spun Cordelia around and lifted her up onto the counter and continued to kiss her. Cordelia was in another world. Everything was coming naturally to her; while she'd worried about perhaps making a fool of herself from lack of experience, it was as if she and Misty had been kissing forever. She wrapped her legs around Misty's waist and puller her in even tighter.

Cordelia ran her fingers up through Misty's hair, winding it around her fingers, gently pulling, while Misty's own hands had already successfully unbuttoned the headmistress' white shirt. It wasn't long before Cordelia felt the little _ping_ of her bra being undone.

Misty started kissing her way down from Cordelia's lips, to her neck, to her collar bones, then to her chest. Cordelia's breathing was becoming ragged and urgent. She gripped Misty's hair tighter, wishing more than ever that she would –

"Well, it's about time," came a voice from the entrance to the kitchen. Cordelia looked up and Misty turned around, and with a shriek, the headmistress slid off the countertop and shielded her naked upper torso using the woman she had been kissing. Madison was looking at them both with a half-smile and tilt of the head, as if she'd predicted the scene. Zoe looked sheepish. She was at least trying to look away to give her headmistress some privacy.

"Girls! Girls, uh, please go upstairs," Cordelia stammered as she buttoned her shirt up.

"Alright, alright. But we all knew you had a massive lady-boner for Misty the moment we saw you staring at her the way sixteen-year-old girls look at Channing Tatum."

The two girls left, and despite being caught in one of the most compromising situations, Cordelia couldn't help but giggle into Misty's back.

"Oh, funny, is it?" Misty said, turning back around to face her.

"Just a little."

Misty pulled Cordelia into another embrace.

"Promise I won't leave you again," she whispered.


End file.
